Who We Are

Dr. Futrell has long been committed to experiential learning and public history having collaborated with entities such as National Geographic and BBC. She is currently most involved in the dynamic collaboration with Microsoft on the making of the video game Age of Empires. In her role on the Public History Collaborative Committee, she advises on digital initiatives, grant writing, and marketing. 

Dr. Carlos Parra completed his Ph.D. in History at the University of Southern California in 2021 where he researched Latino cultural formation in metropolitan Los Angeles and throughout the U.S.-Mexico borderlands. Dr. Parra has done important public history work in partnership with several southern Arizona border communities especially his home county of Santa Cruz (Nogales). 

Dr. Morrissey is committed to public history's power to connect the university with public communities (both in Southern Arizona and beyond).  Her most recent public history projects include the History Lab at the Arizona Historical Society and BorderHub (in collaboration with the UArizona Library). In her role on the Public History Collaborative Committee, she helps advise on local partnerships, digital initiatives, and fundraising.

Dr. Berry has experience with both public history and makerspace educational initiatives. In her 25 years in the classroom, her students have created many public-facing projects as they apply their historical learning to contemporary settings.  She serves to coordinate the Public History Collaborative.  If you are interested in learning more about the PHC, she is the one to contact.

She may be reached via email at: mkberry@arizona.edu

Dr. Milliman believes the best way to learn history is by doing what historians do, not memorizing what historians have done.  Memorizing names and dates is trivia, not history.  Therefore, in each class, Dr. Milliman commits to engaged, experiential learning.  In most of his classes, students work on (course-level appropriate) research projects that are often presented to a public audience. In particular, he wants his students to, literally, make history.  His areas of study include the Global Middle Ages, Food, Historical Games, and Maker History.

Dr. Steptoe studies race, gender, and culture in the United States. She is deeply committed to academic work that reaches beyond the walls of the university. She has served as a historical advisor on the television show Who Do You Think You Are, appearing on a 2016 episode that featured TV personality Aisha Tyler. She recently appeared in the PBS documentary, Little Richard: King and Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll, and she hosts a weekly radio program called “Soul Stories” on 91.3 KXCI Tucson on Saturdays, 2-5 pm. “Soul Stories” explores the roots and branches of rhythm and blues music. (Click here to stream the most recent episodes.)